


Master Collection

by LunarLover12



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF, X-Ray & Vav (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 12:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 14,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11806398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarLover12/pseuds/LunarLover12
Summary: A series of one-shots, prompts, and drabbles so that they're all in the same place. Any tags will be at the beginning of the story!





	1. Shorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Any and all short drabbles! Check often because I'll probably post all of the shorties here!
> 
> **Warnings** : (1) Angst, major character death(s), implied self-harm/suicide
> 
> (2) Doesn't need any tags
> 
> (3) Angst
> 
> (4) F/F, violence
> 
> (5) Major character death
> 
> (6) M/M, AHot6
> 
> (7) F/F, angst?
> 
> (8) M/M
> 
> (9) No tags
> 
> (10) No tags
> 
> (11) No tags

The gang’s dead. Or, at the very least, presumed dead. Only Jeremy remains. And after all he’s done to rise to the top, to be the greatest he could be, he never wanted this. He just wanted his family to be there. To be safe.

So now he sits on the floor of the penthouse, back against the door. He couldn’t get himself to walk much further, so he stopped and collapsed there.

He’s not sure when he started crying, but his eyes are red and his face is wet and sticky with too many tears. His chest feels like his heart has been ripped out and he can’t seem to catch his breath. He’s shaking; can feel his back continuously hit against the door with each tremor. The way his entire body is tense with the spasms.

He closes his eyes and starts counting back from 100. He makes it to 26 before he can feel his body shutting down. He sits for a moment longer before finally opening his eyes again. He looks around the room blankly, not quite seeing anything.

Until they land on the knife resting on the kitchen counter.

Silently, his body starts moving on its own.

\-----------------------

Gavin is absolutely the artist in the group. He has paintings all in his room, a canvas in the corner with a sheet over it, and plenty more in storage somewhere. He will either trash his pieces or randomly gift someone with them. And the crew keep everything they’re giving; know that it’s a special sign of affection for Gavin to open himself up like that.

The talent wasn’t necessarily a secret but no one had thought to ask about the covered mystery object in the corner. So no one knew about it. Until a birthday rolls around. And it’s Geoff’s. Gavin can’t just not get the man something. But he can’t for the life of him think of anything that would pass as a good gift. It takes days for Gavin to shuffle out with something wrapped delicately and refuses to look at anyone’s eyes. He kind of just shoves it into Geoff’s hands and backs away shyly.

The oldest opens it up and immediately pulls Gavin into a tight hug. “This is beautiful, buddy. Thank you so much.” He whispers into the other’s ear. So of course the others are all trying to crowd around to have a look.

For the most part, Gavin tries to find a gift for holidays or birthdays. But there are times where he’s feeling sentimental that he’ll churn out a painting for no real reason, no special occasion.

\-----------------------

Michael was always the loud one. Even before the Fakes, he had been loud. Sure, he could blame it on the explosions. The gunshots. The fighting. The screaming.

But that wasn’t true and he knew it.

If he wasn’t loud - wasn’t heard above everyone else - he would disappear.

He first noticed when he was tinkering with his bombs. Surely someone had made it a rule to not disturb him when dealing with highly dangerous explosives in the base, but the quiet felt too heavy. Was closing in on him too much and was starting to suffocate him. There was the soft sound of footsteps going past the door but never stopping. No one ever checking in on him.

Because they didn’t remember he was in there. Didn’t bother to see how he was doing. Didn’t care.

He had kept to himself for a few days after that. And no one had questioned it. No one offered to help. They just let him suffer in his own mental hell as every fear became real; they didn’t need him. Didn’t /want/ him.

The most they must have wanted from him was his knack for his bombs. Maybe his pretty good shooting. His strength.

But not him. Not his smile, his laugh. Not /him/. Not who he was.

It tore Michael apart. Made his chest tighten and feel it was being ripped apart at the same time. His eyes burned with tears that he refused to let fall. A steady pounding had made itself home in his head and his stomach was doing flips.

And then when he was almost asleep in his bed, there it was. A soft, almost shy, knock on his door. And Ryan poked his head in after a moment.

It was in that very moment that all those stupid fears fell away from Michael once more.

They would be back though.

\-----------------------

Bang!

A loud gunshot rang throughout the enclosed space. The sound of something heavy hitting the floor; the all too familiar noise that only came from a body. The soft exhale of the final breath. A low ‘tch’ in annoyance from the one with the weapon.

And then came soft clicks of heels against a cement floor. The slight chill to the air as the door was opened to the night outside. The safety of the gun being turned on. A breeze picked up and tugged playfully at purple hair; completely oblivious to what had just happened indoors.

The car came alive with a soft purr and the sensation of the road under the vehicle gave a false sense of security. Buildings passed by in a blur, billboards and signs alike starting to get mixed into one another.

Hours passed before the destination neared. A sign whizzed by with the words 'Los Santos 24 miles’.

There was a library placed directly in the middle of the sinful town. Bells jingled above the doorway to announce an arrival. Green eyes looked up but there was no emotion in them. Just a fake smile plastered onto a face. There were no pleasantries traded, not even so much as a hello.

Instead the only sound that was heard was the soft padding of shoes against carpet. Hidden among the back of the building was a set of stairs. The wood of the railing was worn and had obviously been used frequently.

The knock on the door sounded harsh compared to the static quiet from below. Seconds passed before a woman appeared. The Librarian.

“Meg” Mica gasped. And then the nostalgic feeling came as their lips came together again after so long apart.

\-----------------------

There were rumors floating around Los Santos shortly after Michael ‘Mogar’ Jones died a horrific death, trapped in a building with his own explosives meant to level an entire rival crew. The others couldn’t risk going in -each having to hold each other back- so he had painstakingly been left in there.

But that’s not what the rumors were about.

They were about the mysterious Mrs. Jones. The Phoenix.

Someone said she was seriously injured and taken out of the action. A handful said she left town. But a large portion had seen her walking around with a swollen belly fit for a mother-to-be.

And then there were also the whispers of the Golden Boy. Mogar’s best friend and partner in crime. People said he had betrayed his fallen companion by falling for the widow. For moving into their house and essentially taking the role that Michael had left behind.

The crew paid those no mind. They knew the truth, even if they didn’t say anything about it.

Gavin had moved in with Lindsay. That was a known fact all around town at this point. But it wasn’t because of some relationship that the media was absolutely positive about.

Lindsay had lost her partner. Her husband. The father to her child. She was supposed to take care of this child in the world of sin and gangs with no father to help. Of course she would have the support of the FAKES, knew that they were also family. But it wasn’t the same. She couldn’t ask for them to assist every step of the way.

So that’s why Gavin didn’t ask. He just showed up at the house with all his stuff and moved in without a word. When asked a month later about it, all he said was “Michael would want me to take care of you two. So that’s what I’m gonna do. Even if I’m shit at it.”

He had lost his best friend. His first friend in America after moving from England. The man who was able to make him smile and laugh even when getting yelled at. So of course he would take on helping the wife of that man. To watch the child learn and grow.

To become a smaller version of the partner they had both lost.

\-----------------------

It was nights like these that Geoff loved the most. It had been a relatively easy day, just some negotiating and messing around for the most part. But now it was nearing the early hours of the morning and the crew was starting to doze.

The night was silent except for the slow breathing of everyone around him. The giant cuddle pile had started with Ryan tackling Jeremy onto the bed. Where Jack had plopped herself down on top of them and then refused to move. Gradually, everyone joined them until they fell asleep.

There was something about being surrounded by those one loved. From the snoring to the heat that radiated from the bodies.

Geoff closed his eyes and felt his body relax even more. He was just about to nod off when he felt one of the many feet kick him in the shin. He huffed in amusement before rolling over. Michael moved with him, turning to face the leader and mumbling to himself in his sleep. Geoff instantly reached out to wrap his arms around the younger and pull him to his chest.

He’d come to regret it in the morning when he woke up drenched with sweat. But for right now, the moment was perfect.

\-----------------------

“Come with me.” Meg whispered, eyes closed so she couldn’t see Lindsay’s face. There were tears builing up and a lump forming in her throat. She already knew the answer, but she still had to at least offer. To try.

One last time.

There was a heavy sigh lingering in the air and a sob escaped Meg. “I can’t. You know that.” And okay, good. Lindsay was crying too. “I’ll miss you.” And another set of lips on hers.

“I’ll miss you too, Linds.” Finally, Meg opened her eyes once more to study the other woman’s face. To burn every small detail possible into her memory.

“I know.” Lindsay’s voice cracked and there was a pause as they both cried and tried to collect themselves. “You’ll come back though, right? Once all of this is settled?”

The answer that never came was too much for Lindsay. Her body shook as she cried. Arms wrapped around her as Meg whispered apologies and empty promises.

\-----------------------

Silence.

Michael glanced at his phone to see how long they had been talking for. Only 30 minutes.

At most 15 of that was small talk. Then they had run out of things to say and now they sat in awkward silence.

“I guess I should go. I have a long day ahead of me.” Ray finally said on the other end. Michael sighed but had nothing more to say.

“Yeah, okay. Be safe out there.” There was only a grunt in return and Michael rolled his eyes.

The only thing Ray would be doing was sniping, but there was a nagging feeling he couldn’t get rid of. Sure; the other had been acting strangely isolated recently. But surely it was nothing to worry about. After all, it wasn’t unusual for Ray to pull away from his advances before returning them in full after some time.

Michael turned towards the other body in the room and felt his shoulders hunch. “You okay?” Ryan asked as the older man stood from his spot on the bed to casually sit on Michael’s lap.

“Yeah. He’s just not talking to me again.”

“Just give him some time.” The other suggested. After a moment of contemplating, Ryan put his finger under Michael’s chin and forced the other to look him in the eyes. “It’ll be okay. He’ll come around eventually.” Before giving him a reassuring kiss to the lips. “But while he’s thinking, I believe I have a way to distract you.” Ryan said, a mischievous look to his eyes.

“Oh do you?” Michael asked, his hands going to rest on the blonde’s hips as they gyrated in unison. Michael gasped, his mouth moving to suck on Ryan’s neck.

\-----------------------

When it comes to vacations, the boys have it on lockdown. They’ve found a system that works, that’s more or less comfortable for everyone.

Jack and Geoff take turns driving. Jack does a big portion of it while Geoff will navigate. One may argue that they get lost a lot more than they should this way, but no one else wants those jobs.

Jeremy sits in the second row on the passenger side. He’s in charge of the music. From 80s to his own remixes, no one complains too much with his choices. (Although there was that year he tried getting away with only meme music. Never. Again.)

Ryan sits on the driver side in the second row. It makes sense to have the one with the longer legs sit with the shortest person they have. He just likes to read the whole way there, occasionally joining the conversation when it piques his interest. And whenever Gavin is getting too annoying, he’ll turn the Brit’s attention to him so that he’ll hopefully leave the others alone for a while.

Michael sits in the very back row. He handles the snacks, digs into any bags for anything the others might need, and takes it upon himself to flip off or yell at any idiot on the road who doesn’t know how to drive. He will occasionally point out interesting places or things that he sees on the side of the road.

And then there’s Gavin. Who… Doesn’t really have a job. He’s mostly just there for the ride. Although he does usually keep the gang engaged in some kind of conversation unless they’re singing or he’s passed out.

\-----------------------

Jack knew many things. How to build a house. The proper way to take care of plants and animals. How to tend to minor wounds.

But the one thing that the crew never argued about was his driving. The man would drive the streets of Los Santos during those quiet nights with too much on his mind. Go for a leisurely cruise to help fill time between jobs. He knew the roads like the back of his hand and was probably able to navigate them with his eyes closed.

So it made sense that Jack was usually their getaway driver. Knowing every shortcut and alley made it easy to avoid and lose cops.

Only Geoff thought he knew the city better. Sure, Jack had a feel for the layout of the town but this was Geoff’s empire. He knew the basic floor plan and had a general understanding of the people under his rule would react to certain things.

And he made the mistake of trying to tell Jack where to go after just robbing a bank. They had argued for a solid three minutes before Jack unwillingly followed orders. He jerked on the steering wheel hard enough to almost send the car onto two wheels as he made the turn, everyone in the vehicle screaming bloody murder.

The orders were followed to a T. Straight into a blockade of police cars stopping any traffic from crossing the bridge. Jack had simply given Geoff a look that said ‘I told you so.’

“Don’t even start. Just turn around and take a right up onto the mountain.” Their boss instructed.

So Jack put the car back into drive. And proceeded to go forward; towards the barricade and the water beneath. Geoff started screeching while his hands pounded on the dash. “What are you doing?! You’re going to kill us!” He screamed.

Jack veered off road to the left and ramped off the edge before the car went soaring over the river, landing a bit rough but relatively safely on the other side. Geoff was still going on with his rant about pretty much anything at this rate.

“SHUT UP!” Jack snapped while his grip tightened on the steering wheel. “I know what I’m doing. So shut up, sit back, and let me do my job.” He hissed, eyes never once leaving the road.

The vehicle was maneuvered slightly up the mountain before diving back down into a small crevice. A small drain pipe was the perfect place to lay low for a while and that’s exactly where they went. They were only there for about 20 minutes before they left with the cops safely off of their backs.

But Geoff never tried to tell Jack how to drive or where to go after that. And the rest of the crew knew better than to open their mouths while passengers or else they’d get Jack’s special driving: hard turns and brake checks that is guaranteed to make them throw up.

\-----------------------

Ryan pressed his hand against the scanner as he glanced up to the camera where either Gavin or Matt were bound to be watching. He tilted his head in their direction and removed his hand only after he heard the familiar buzzing of the door unlocking.

Once the door closed shut firmly behind him, the Vagabond reached up and peeled the plastic skull mask off of his face. The skin underneath was wet and gross with sweat, the hair currently in a ponytail damp, and Ryan felt like he just needed a shower all around.

He started to remove the layers of clothing off of himself while he made his way towards the bathroom before hearing a soft groan. He paused in his steps and turned to the living room where the sounds were coming from. The pained groan was muffled by something and there was a brief second where he thought that maybe there was a prisoner in the main penthouse.

As Ryan peeked through the doorway, his eyes scanned across the room with practiced motions. There was no one he could see, but the sounds were still coming from somewhere. There came a slight ruffling from one of the couches and he slowly inched his way to glance over the back of it.

Jeremy lay on his stomach with his shirt off and face buried into a pillow. His shoulders and back muscles were taut with tension. Ryan’s face softened as he automatically relaxed at the pitiful sight in front of him. “Back hurting again?” he asked. The only reply was another grunt.

He cracked his fingers and carefully positioned himself to hover above the lad. He started to slowly work his fingers into the muscles, working hard to release some of the tension the other held in his body.

A soft moan came out from under him and Ryan chuckled. They stayed silent for the most part as the gent tried to ease the pain with only occasional hisses and sighs. Eventually, Jeremy lay still on the couch, head no longer in the pillow. “Feel better?” Ryan questioned and smiled as the other nodded cheerfully.

“Sorry. It’s my muscles again.” Jeremy apologized, rolling his shoulders as he did so. It was easy to see that he was embarrassed at the fact that he had been in pain. That, despite best efforts, the recurring sharp pressure continued to happen. The older of the two merely pat his back while he climbed off.

“No problem. Go get that heat pack and put it on. There’s pills in your room for you.” Ryan told the other man. “I’m gonna hop in the shower. Holler at me if you need me.”


	2. Zambies!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Mica/Michael zombie au.
> 
>  **Warnings** : Violence

The first time she meets Michael, he’s saving her life.

Mica had been in a building scavenging for any sort of supplies that might be left. She had made a home for herself in this town, had killed so many walkers that it was relatively safe to sleep at night. Which meant she had also searched almost everything for things to help her survive. The entire place was just about picked clean of all it had to offer.

But she hadn’t anticipated the horde that would make it’s way through the town.

It started with the groans and moans of the zombies outside, a little louder than usual. She peeked through the window to see a handful of them in view. Nothing she couldn’t either handle or avoid. So she had shrugged her shoulders and continued on.

Until one of them comes face-to-face with her when she turns a corner. Her instincts struck before her mind could catch up and figure out what was in front of her. The screwdriver dug deep into the head and it took an extra tug to get it to come out.

That was when she figured it was time to go, so Mica carefully made her way towards the roof of the building. Once there, she let her eyes wander over the streets without really looking -a dangerous bad habit of hers. Without much care for the height, she hopped down into the alley below. She glanced behind her before heading in the direction of her temporary home.

Only to cross the street to find the path leading there to be swarmed with the undead.

The only other safe-ish house was on the other side of town.

Her heartbeat picked up and she could feel herself starting to panic a little. She hadn’t seen this many zombies since the whole thing began and now there was suddenly so many.

Without a second thought she pivoted on her feet and booked it.

As she was passing an alley, an arm reached out and grasped at her shirt. Trash fell to the ground and scattered as the creature stumbled in its attempt to hold on. Swiftly, the screwdriver was used once more; straight through the eye and into the brain.

Mica jerked her arm back and wiped the blood onto her jeans. There were the familiar groans of zombies coming from all over making her slightly disoriented which gave her a hard time deciding on which route would be the safest to go. So she did what she always did in these situations: trusted her gut. It's what got her this far.

With her mind made up, she continued on the road she was on. But she started jumping over fences into backyards. There was a certain rythym to it that made it easy to somewhat zone out while her body set itself on auto-pilot.

One fence she climbed over made a bit of racket. Instantly her senses perked up for any danger. Noise attracts, after all.

Something was suddenly on top of her, forcing her to step to the side slightly. A gasp escaped her and her weapon lashed out blindly. The ground disappeared from under her feet and, next thing she knew, she was falling. She braced herself for the impact of the ground but all she hit was water.

She was stunned for a moment before she remembered the danger she was in. Her hands came up to defend herself against the creature’s bite and - holy shit where did the screwdriver go?

A hand reached into the water and pulled the zombie up and out and then there was blood splattering across the surface of the water, tainting it a gross shade of dark red. The same hand appeared once more and grabbed her by the wrist.

Mica gasped for air the second her head popped up out of the pool, her hands moving to brush the dark hair out of her face so she could take in the new situation.

“You picked a shitty time to go swimming.” A voice said from the left. Mica swung around to face the source, a young man probably in his early 20s and freckles placed all over his cheeks.

“Yeah, well. Just couldn’t resist, ya know?” She shrugged. That seemed to break the ice because they were both smiling a moment later.

The stranger offered his hand to her and she took it graciously. He helped pull her out of the water before holding something out to her. The screwdriver!

“Name’s Michael.” He told her almost timidly. Mica grinned up at him.

“Mica. Thanks for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it. Always happy to help anyone left alive these days.”


	3. All I Needed Was My Friend When You Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fahc Raychael prompt from an anon using 'All I needed was my friend' and 'You left!'
> 
> **Warnings** : Angst, M/M

Michael was exhausted. He had been out all day working on getting some new weapons for the crew, going from one gang to another playing bodyguard for Geoff. He just wanted to go home and go to sleep on his bed. Or maybe even the couch. God, anything sounded glorious at this point.

He made his way up the stairs to his apartment, keys jingling on his fingertips as he did so. But there was an off feeling that only got stronger the closer he got to his door. His senses heightened automatically, trying to pinpoint any noise coming from the other side or to see something out of place. He cautiously grabbed the doorknob and turned, finding it unlocked already. His hand moved to the gun in his waistband and systematically turned the safety off with practiced motions. He mentally counted to three before swinging the door open with his weapon raised.

“Ray?” Michael questioned while the hold he had had on his gun loosened before he let the barrel point towards the ground. “Wha-what are you doing here?”

The ex-crew member had positioned himself perfectly on one of the recliners so that he could see the doorway and still be within reach of either his sniper or pistol laying carefully on the couch. The younger man grinned from where he was perched. “Hey, Michael.” He greeted. “What a great way to greet someone you haven’t seen in ages.” He joked. But he could see that the humor wasn’t shared between the two as the other man’s face hardened.

“Yeah? Well maybe if you so much as texted every so often you’d get a proper hello.” And oh, the dam had snapped because now Michael was furious again. “Or if you had even said goodbye the first time around. If you hadn’t just disappeared like you did and stayed to at least tell us you were leaving!”

“Woah. Michael-”

“You don’t just do that! Do you know how worried we were?! How long we spent searching for you after that?! How long _I_ looked even after everyone else stopped?!” The FAKE was marching his way towards the chair Ray was on with an accusing finger being jammed towards his direction with every sentence. Ray stood from his spot, no longer as confident as he had fooled himself into being with such a dangerous position.

At least this way he had options if things turned too ugly.

“What else was I supposed to do?! Jack was- he was hurt! I couldn’t just stand by and watch helplessly!” The Hispanic defended himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“So you what? You ran away?”

“You know what? Yeah, I did.”

“You’re a coward, Ray. We should’ve known that you weren’t going to stick with us. Hell! I should have known! You were never around when I needed you!” Michael accused, his New Jersey accent coming back out a little with his rage. Ray scoffed.

“What are you even talking about!? I was _always_ by your side! Those guys that came after you back in ‘06? I bailed you out! When you got that bullet to your chest, who stitched you back up?” The smaller recalled, standing up straighter now that the finger was on his chest almost painfully and their faces were mere inches apart.

Michael threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “I’m not talking about those times! I’m talking about when all I needed was my friend, not just my partner! When my mom died and you disappeared for a week before claiming you were on some ‘job’. When Gavin and I had that huge fight and you were too high on pot and whatever else to so much as form a full sentence! When _Jack almost died_ and you disappeared for _five years_ before randomly showing back up!”

“Look, man. I’m sorry about all of that, I really am. But I-” Ray managed to get out before Michael interrupted once more.

“You _left_ , Ray! You don’t _get_ to make excuses this time!” And with that, the older man turned around and threw the flower pot that held a single rose in it that he had always kept by the couch. In case Ray came back. He guessed it was sort of his last hope. The pot shattered upon impact and Ray flinched at the sound. Underneath all of the dirt and clay, the flower lay smashed and broken. “Get. Out.” Michael ground out between his teeth, eyes on the floor and his shoulders hunched up high. He was breathing heavily and he could feel his chest tighten with all of the emotions he had kept bottled in for five years, those he pushed down even now.

“Michael..” Ray trailed off. He stood there helpless, his hand raising up to touch his friend. To help soothe the hurricane of feelings that must be swirling around inside the other man’s head.

But he thought better of it. He forced his limb to drop back down and slowly starting picking up his weapons once more. When Michael didn’t so much as look his direction, the younger made his way to the door. “I’ll be staying in the usual hotel if you ever want to talk.” He tried one last time before letting the door shut behind him.

Once he heard the click, Michael felt himself collapse. He quickly sat down on the couch and buried his head in his hands and choked back a sob.

Just when he had started getting better too. What shitty timing.


	4. Michael's Massages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hybrid au with cat!Michael and bird!Gavin.

Michael gave the best massages. They felt like his hands made every tense muscle melt away within seconds.

He was very generous with them, too. After Geoff had a long day of planning and was tense with some problems with another gang. Whenever Jack got back from one of his reconstruction projects. On nights Ryan was too wound up to go to sleep. After a nasty fight Jeremy had scrapped his way through.

Gavin is the one who got it the most. He had discovered that all he had to do was ask. But that only happened once every so often. Most of the time Michael would appear in his bedroom right after he had completed a mission that had required him to sit at his desk for days on end.

It was evening when Gavin finally emerged from his office. He couldn’t remember the last time he had properly slept, let alone had anything other than Red Bull to drink. His muscles were sore and he silently hoped Michael was at the penthouse and not on some job. Gavin pulled out his phone and had to focus for a moment to clear his blurry vision before he was able to send a short message to his boi. And then he crossed the short distance to his room and collapsed on the bed.

There were hands on his back, carefully pressing down alongside where his wings were. A slight vibration coming from the source told him it was Michael. Gavin kept his eyes closed and let out a mumbled greeting to the other. The purring stopped long enough for the cat hybrid to chuckle and say hello.

They sat in silence for a few moments more while the muscles were forced to relax and all the tension built up from the chair left his body. “I don’t know how you do it, boi.” Gavin moaned out as a hand dug into his shoulder in the best way painfully possible.

“What?” Michael asked, amusement clear in his voice.

“How you do such good massages.”

“Oh. I don’t know. I just do. It’s not that hard.” The cat responded.

And then something clicked in Gavin. The familiar motions of Michael’s hands. The repetitive pressure on his back. “Michael?”

“Hm?”

“Are you kneading me, Michael?” Gavin asked, laughing as the movement above him stopped. He turned his neck as much as he could to see the man on top of him.

Michael’s face was red with embarrassment and he refused to meet Gavin’s gaze. There was a pause filled only with snickers from the Brit until Michael finally said a simple “shut up”. And then, as an afterthought, “or else I won’t do it anymore”.


	5. Overworked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FAHC au in which Gav needs to take better care of himself

“When’s the last time you ate? Or slept?” Ryan asked from the doorway. Gavin merely angled his head in that general direction, his eyes refusing to pull away from the screen.

“I’m not sure. What day is it?” The Brit answered, voice heavy with exhaustion. And Ryan could see how the other’s eyes drooped tiredly. The bags under them and the way he was hunched in on himself.

“Tuesday.” Ryan answered and saw that Gavin wasn’t even really listening anymore.

“Hm?” The hacker hummed in reply before abruptly straightening up. His fingers danced over the keyboard and his eyes focused in a split second; a whole new person from just a moment ago.

He had tuned everything out and simply concentrated on his work. It took a couple more minutes before he had managed to find what he was looking for.

He could finally go to sleep. Finally able to get out of the chair!

He glanced down at the time to see that it was 3:17 in the morning. He hovered his mouse over the time to show the date, biting his lip as he did so. It was Tuesday. He had started working on this Thursday.

Gavin mulled over the past few days, trying to figure out what and when he had ate within that time.

A few energy bars maybe. Redbull and coffee. Was there a doughnut in there? Or was that right before?

Gavin stretched out his stiff and sore limbs out and felt many different places pop as he did so. He couldn’t help the blissful moan that escaped him as his body relaxed, closing his eyes to truly enjoy the feeling.

He stood up without much thought and immediately regretted it. The room spun and tilted like it usually did after times like this. But there were also black spots in his vision.

Not to mention that his arms and legs felt off as well.

The world went black within moments and the last thing Gavin remembered was his head hitting the floor.

-

Someone was shaking him, calling out his name. There was a faint smell of food, probably breakfast by the syrup-y tinge to it.

Gavin slowly opened his eyes before glancing around the room. That’s odd. He didn’t remember coming into his room. “What time is it?” He asked whoever it was waking him.

“It’s 10, Gav.” The familiar voice of Geoff answered. There was a slight pause, as if the other was hesitating on saying something else. “Gavin. Today’s Friday.”

No, that couldn’t be right. He finished the job on Tuesday. He remembered that. And that’s exactly what he told Geoff.

“You’ve been asleep ever since. You collapsed and haven’t woken up till now. We were getting real worried for ya, buddy.”


	6. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FAHC au with some Michael and Geoff bonding

Michael could hear some glass shattering on the other side of the door, making him hesitate. Maybe he should come back some other time. Perhaps tomorrow would be better.

It was always extremely stressful when another crewmember got hurt; even something minor like a blade wound to the shoulder like today with Jack.

Michael had just made up his mind to turn away and to come back later when the door opened to a fuming Geoff. The younger froze, uncertain what to do when he had been caught while the older man’s face softened once he saw Michael. “Oh hey. What’s up, bud?” Geoff asked. He stepped back to give Michael room to enter the office, shutting the door behind them once they were both in.

“I just. I just wanted to see how you were. Caleb said you wouldn’t let him check on you.” Michael rushed out in one long breath. Geoff let out a long sigh as his hands ran along his face.

“I’m just tired.”

“Oh. Do you want me to leave so you can-” But Geoff interrupted.

“No. Not that kind of tired.” There was a pause as Michael waited for an explanation and Geoff sought to find the right words. “It’s just. I’ve spent so much of my life trying to get here. So much money. I’ve killed.. A lot of people, Michael.

And people got hurt. People I cared about. Jack today. Jeremy last month. Ry-” Geoff stopped to collect himself. “Ryan, when he got kidnapped.” He finished in a whisper.

“And for what? For _this_?!” He scoffed, gesturing around him wildly. “I’ve got all the money I could ask for. I have so many cars and bases that I can’t keep track of the keys anymore! I have connections and friends in high places. I’ve got _influence_!” Michael was starting to hunch in on himself to shield himself from Ramsey’s ranting, the boss starting to pace back and forth in front of the massive window.

“I’m still not happy. I still want more. I’ve got nothing to show for all of my work! I’ve worked my whole life into becoming this and now I… I don’t know. I wish I was just normal, I guess.” He finished.

There was nothing but silence until Michael got up out of his chair and marched over to Geoff, putting his hands on his shoulders. He shook slightly to get the older man to look him in the eyes.

“We’ve all done bad things to get here, Geoff. If not for you, then for someone else. And who’s to say they wouldn’t be worse than you?” Michael questioned. “If it weren’t for you, none of us would be here. Together. Hell I might not even be alive. Gav might still be in England. Jeremy would probably still be fighting.”

“Yeah but-”

“No buts! You brought me here to you guys. You helped me find where I belong. I found my _family_ because of you. So don’t go around thinking you’ve got nothing to show for everything. You’ve got something every other crew wishes they had: a family they can trust their life with.” Michael finished, eyes fierce and grip strong. And gods, was it hard for Geoff to not feel the truth behind those words. The loyalty that went so much deeper than just being crew.

Tears sprung to Geoff’s eyes and Michael quickly pulled him in for a hug. “I love you, boss.” He smirked into the other’s shoulder, feeling Geoff snort in reply.

“Love you too, kiddo.” He answered.

“No homo.”


	7. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FAHC au where the Vagabond meets Mogar

“Everybody in positions?” Geoff asked over the coms. There was a minute as everyone verbally confirmed they were ready before their leader turned towards Michael. “Relax. Don’t let him know you’re anxious.” He ordered the lad.

Michael rolled his shoulders back while he took a deep breath. He forced himself to at least appear relaxed and he took a moment to gather himself.

It was nerve-racking, knowing that he was about to go face to face with the most dangerous mercenary the United States -maybe even the world- had come to fear. The Vagabond was someone that no crew wanted to be on the bad side of; the Fakes had gone so far as to stay as far away from the mystery man as possible. Until they were forced to reach out and ask for his help.

So now here they were outside of some warehouse that was in enemy territory. Jack and Gavin were in a car down the street waiting to pick them up. Gavin had his laptop up and ready to go in case they needed to use any distractions. Jeremy was on top of a rooftop on the building to the right, sniper at the ready.

The second Michael pulled on his leather jacket, he transitioned into Mogar. The nerves seemed to disappear from his body and a cocky smirk formed on his face. He shoved his hands into his pockets casually and motioned to Geoff he was ready to go.

“Alright guys. Let’s do this.”

Ramsey and Mogar made their way through the warehouse until they spotted a figure in the middle of a room, twirling a knife around in his gloved hands. A chill went through Michael’s spine as he gazed upon the infamous skull mask the other wore.

“Vagabond.” Ramsey greeted. The stranger merely stared back at the two. Michael rolled his eyes. Was this how the meeting was going to go?

-

Michael waited for about 15 minutes while Ramsey talked and Vagabond either shook or nodded his head in response. And sure. The lad’s patience was starting to grow thin at this point.

After the 40th head shake, Michael couldn’t handle it anymore. “Seriously? You won’t say a fucking word?” He lashed out. Cold blue eyes turned to meet his and Mogar huffed.

In an instant, Vagabond stood from his chair and stalked over to him. This man was easily at least 4 inches taller than him. Whether it was from height alone or from the boots the other had on. So Michael did what felt right. He snarled at the mask.

A hand wrapped around his throat and suddenly there was harsh whispering in his ear from Jeremy and the slightly panicked voice of Geoff. Michael’s own hand reached up to try to tear at the leather, eyes going wide as his feet left the ground. He gasped for air and started kicking violently at the other man.

The fire alarms went off and then there was water everywhere. The hand around his throat disappeared and Michael fell to the ground, trying to remember how to breath once more. He could feel worried hands fluttering over him then heard the click of a safety turning off. He glanced up to see Vagabond merely standing there with Ramsey’s gun pointed at him.

“Teach your dog to behave.” The skull said, voice deep and oddly creepy. Like something out of an older horror movie. Michael tried to glare at him, but he was overcome with a coughing fit.

“I’ll see you tomorrow to finish the details. Bring him.” Vagabond said while turning on his heels to walk towards the exit. The stranger’s hand rose and…. Waved?

It took another minute for Michael to realize the man had managed to figure they had a sniper and pinpoint where Jeremy was.

Damn, was he good.


	8. Insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some sweet sweet FAHC Ray and Gavin fluff

With eyes burning, Gavin clicked over to the next screen. He wasn’t sure when he had last slept for more than a few hours and his body was starting to take its toll. His legs felt heavy and a bit tingly, his thoughts were all over the place, and he was moving considerably slower than usual.

So he spent most of his nights watching the security cams. There had been a series of high-profile break ins lately and he was using that as his excuse to sit there all night.

He took a sip from the cup of coffee in his hands as he brought his feet up into the chair. His stomach was starting to hurt and he couldn’t decide if it was a side effect from so little sleep or if he was coming down with something. Whatever the case, there wasn’t really anything he could do.

There was rustling at the door and Gavin turned tired eyes to glance over in that direction. Ray stood there, leaning against the door frame, with red eyes and a familiar smell hanging in the air between them.

“What are you still doing up, Vav?” The sniper asked, eyes still sharp and calculating despite how stoned the other must be at this point,

“Can’t sleep so I’m watching the cams. You?” The hacker returned, motioning towards the computer. Ray shrugged lazily.

“Not tired yet. Hopefully I’ll pass out here in a few.” Gavin nodded his head in understanding. It was pretty common at this rate for Ray to smoke until he grew tired, his fucked up sleep schedules making it almost impossible to get fully rested.

Gavin scooted over in his chair to pat the spot next to him. “Want to join me until you get tired?” He offered. The other considered him for a moment before slowly making his way over. He plopped down next to Gavin oh so gracefully.

They sat in silence for a while until soft snores started filling the quiet. Gavin smiled to himself, glancing over as Ray’s head slowly fell onto his shoulder. He moved until he was comfortable with the sleeping man’s head resting on his chest and his coffee safely on the desk. And with the warmth of another body, something other than the keyboard clacking to fill the silence, and just the knowledge that he wasn’t alone, Gavin gradually began to grow tired. His eyes dropped even more -if that was even possible at this rate- and his head was nodding to the side.

It only took a few more minutes before they were both sound asleep.


	9. Skeletons in the Bathroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off of Missy's fic [Skeletons in the Closet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11471751). Go read that if you haven't already, it's pretty great!  
> FAHC au Turnfreewood

Even though they all knew they were criminals and all about their underground personas, it still came as a shock when they found all the weapons belonging to their partners. It was bound to happen at some point considering they were all moving in together. At this point everybody’s stuff had been at least moved into the house even if nothing was unpacked yet.

So they each decided to tackle a room before bed. Gavin was working on the living room, Meg was doing the bathroom, and Ryan was in the kitchen.

And when Meg opened up a box labeled ‘Gavvy Bath’, she wasn’t expecting to see more makeup than even she had. She double checked to make sure she hadn’t accidentally grabbed either her makeup box or Ryan’s facepaint stuff. But nope. It was Gavin’s.

So she dumped it all onto the counter and sorted it out in a way that was organized yet chaotic which left the Golden Boy plenty of room to put everything wherever he preferred. She moved onto the next box and then the next, slowly working her way through the room.

Meg was almost done when she moved another box into the bathroom to unpack. It was heavier than the rest of the boxes and quite a bit bigger. What the hell could Ryan possibly have that was this heavy for the fucking _bathroom_? She set it down -perhaps a little too rough- and opened it up to softly gasp. There laid at least 20 different kinds of weapons. 3 or 4 SMGs, too many knives to count, multiple pistols, so on and so forth.

“Ryan?” She called uncertainly. She knew that Ryan was Vagabond, had gone on missions with him! Had seen first hand that the man carried a multitude of weapons at any given time. She honestly shouldn’t be this surprised.

“Yeah?” Ryan poked his head in. His eyes traveled to the box on the floor before pursing his lips. “Ah, those.”

“Yeah, these. Why do you have them labeled bathroom?” She questioned with a laugh. But Ryan merely looked confused.

“Cause that’s where they go?” Meg couldn’t help but to stare at him in disbelief.

“You expect all of these to fit in here?” She motioned around to the bathroom. Sure it was big but not big enough for all of these!

“Yeah it’ll be easy!”

And Meg swears Ryan has some kind of super power because all of those mother fucking guns were gone the next time she walked in there. And when she asked where they all went he had simply smiled and shook his head mysteriously. “Stupid creepy ass Vagabond.” She mumbled as she started unloading the final box.


	10. Smut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy helps a sleepy Gavin go to sleep by giving him a blowjob! SMUT :D

The pills in his hand rattled around as Gavin positioned himself on the couch. Without even reaching for the glass of water on the table right in front of him, he simply popped them into his mouth and swallowed them dry.

“Dude. How many did you take?” Jeremy questioned from his position on the other side of the sofa.

“Uhm. I don’t know. Maybe 5?” The hacker guessed, rubbing at his burning eyes. He’d been running on 8 combined hours of sleep the past 5 days and he was finally admitting defeat by taking some maybe not entirely legal drugs in the hopes of passing out.

Normally 5 capsules would seem too many. But when somebody took as many pills as Gavin did, his body had a harder time letting the medicine kick in and do its job.

“You know. I think I might know another way to help you sleep.” Jeremy mused aloud, his eyes searching along his body. “If you’ll try it that is?”

“I’ll try anything at this rate.”

Gavin groaned out while his head flopped backwards to rest on the cushion. Jeremy slowly made his way over to him, Gavin just watching with half-lidded eyes. Carefully, the smaller body moved to straddle him and now there was some blood rising to both of their cheeks.

“Wha-what are we doing, Lil J?” The Brit licked his lips nervously, his hands fluttering around for a moment before settling on the other’s thighs uncertainly. But instead of an answer, he merely got a kiss. Instinctively, he kissed back. Jeremy seemed to gain a bit of courage by that and he moved to get a better angle. It was.. Different to have his usually passive Jeremy be so aggressive in any of their interactions. Gavin was in no way going to complain though. He happily obliged the man and tilted his head upwards to deepen the kiss.

Jeremy’s hands were tangling themselves in blonde hair and he shifted his hips to position himself better. Gavin couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped him, earning a chuckle in return. The lips disappeared from his and Gavin let out a while in protest. But it was silenced a moment later when they reappeared again on his neck. The man nuzzled into his neck and Gavin didn’t fight it when his head rolled to the side to allow more room for the other. Almost painfully slow, Jeremy traveled lower and lower until his hands were resting right on the tent of Gavin’s pants. With a pop, the button on his pants came undone and he watched, mesmerized, as the other slid the zipper down. He lifted his hips off the couch to make it easier for Jeremy to teasingly pull his pants and boxers down to his knees. Hot breath made the dick under it twitch in excitement. “Jeremy.” Gavin moaned out.

And with that, he was engulfed in warmth and closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. There was a low hum and vibration that had him thrusting upwards. He looked down to see the other pull back in time to not choke, letting go of his dick with a wet pop. A hand wrapped around the base while he ran his tongue across the slit in a way that made Gavin shiver. Then Jeremy took him in his mouth once more.

Gavin panted as the hand started to slowly pump him in time with Jeremy’s head bobs, resisting the urge to rock his hips to the rhythm. Instead, he gripped the orange hair with one hand. Jeremy’s grip on his waist loosened and went to scratch the inside of the blonde’s thigh in response while simultaneously letting his teeth lightly glide along Gavin. His mouth then moved down to gather all of his boyfriend inside of him, hollowing his cheeks as he pulled back. There was a tightness building in Gavin’s stomach and it didn’t take much longer for it to pour out of him. He was sweating and panting heavily at this point, forcing his fingers to relax and then card through the hideous hair in soothing motions.

Jeremy licked at his lips before smiling widely at the other. He crawled his way up then worked his way in between the small frame and the back of the couch. Warm arms wrapped around him in the middle of Gavin putting his clothes back in their proper places. They laid for a moment until Jeremy finally spoke. “Think you can sleep now?” He asked. But when he looked down, the other was already out cold.


	11. Suppression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hybrid au in which Michael has a hard time accepting himself.

Michael had always had trouble. Since he was a child and his memory was fuzzy, he still remembered his grandmother telling him of fights he got into and the kids he hated with a passion. Most of them were because of what he was: a hybrid.

A predator.

But there were some that had begun when he was in 6th grade and realized that he had different feelings. He didn’t think Madison was cute, or even Ali. No, he thought Jason was the prettiest around. And when he voiced that opinion, he was turned into an even bigger outcast; for who he was.

So when he left his home and his past behind, he was determined to fix himself. He dated girls and kept away from any guys he thought were anything beyond cute. He refused to let himself get crushes on men and even started watching some lesbian porn to try to interest him in the female body.

But nothing worked. And it only got worse when a new guy came into work one day.

“Meet the newest two members of Support: Matt Bragg and Jeremy Dooley. You’ve already seen some of their work on the maps we’ve played and some videos going around. They’re just officially joining us so we’ll have a lot more to play now.” Geoff introduced them proudly.

And, oh god. The man- Jeremy- was cute.

But he was part of B Team so it wasn’t really that big of a deal. They would see each other maybe once or twice a day and that was it. Nothing to worry about. All Michael had to do was steer clear of him the best he could.

-

After Ray left, Jeremy started coming in to record videos with them. Again, nothing too big because everyone from support was jumping in to help every so often. But there was a frequency to it that made it clear that he was transitioning to work full time with them. Which was going to be a problem for Michael.

When it became official that Lil J was being brought into the main room, Michael basically had a mini panic attack. How was he supposed to do this?!

It wasn’t until he had hidden himself in the bathroom for roughly 8 minutes did he come up with a solution.

-

“I mean, of course you can. But why?” Gavin asked in confusion, holding out the key to his private office.

“I just want a change. To see if it works better or not. Something new.” Michael shrugged.

-

He was staring at the blank monitor when a knock of the door sounded. By the sound of the breathing on the other side he could tell it was Jeremy. He leaned back in his chair and swung around to face it before telling him to come in. Upon seeing red hair, he instantly tensed. “Hey. Do you have a sec?” Jeremy asked.

“Sure. What’s up?” Michael answered. He watched as the other fidgeted with his fingers, eyes darting around the room.

“Is there something wrong with me?” The other rushed out after a moment, the words spilling from his mouth. Michael sat a bit dumbfounded while he tried to think of something to say. “Not like that. But I just. You don’t talk to me? And I was thinking it was because I took Ray’s position. I know how close you guys were and I don’t want you-” Jeremy babbled on until Michael finally held up a hand to stop him.

“Nothing’s wrong with you. I just need some quiet right now.” Was all he gave for an answer before turning back towards the computer. Thankfully it was positioned to where no one at the door could see it so it at least made it appear that he was busy at the moment.

He could see Jeremy deflate out of the corner of his eyes. “Oh. Okay.” There was an awkward pause as Jeremy either waited to say something or for Michael to speak, but Michael simply pretended to not notice him. The man seemed to get the hint and softly said his goodbye.

-

“Michael!” His name was yelled and he instantly stopped, turning around to see who it was calling him. His ears twitched to help pinpoint where the footsteps were coming from and he noticed Jack approaching.

“I’m glad I caught you before you went home!” The man grinned once he got closer. “I wanted to ask you something unless you have somewhere else to be soon?”

“Yeah of course.” Michael answered easily.

“I was wondering. Do you have a problem with Jeremy? He said he went to go talk to you yesterday and you pretty much ingored him.” Jack wondered. Michael could feel himself growing defensive already, too many years of bullying and fights kicking in.

“No. Not at all.” He said. And it wasn’t really a lie. The problem was with himself, after all.

Jack studied him for a moment before choosing his next words. “So you’d be totally fine hanging out with him?”

“Yeah. Sure. Why not?” The cat lied with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Good come on. We’re drinking at Geoff’s.” Michael froze and was about to come up with another lie until he realized that he had already said he had no plans. Jack must of seen his reaction though; he tilted his head to the side and hesitated again.

“Michael? Do you like Jeremy?” He asked carefully.

“Yes. Didn’t we just go over this?” Michael tried to laugh but the other man was already shaking his head.

“No. I mean do you _like_ Jeremy?”

Now he was starting to breathe too fast. No nononono this was just like when he was younger! Jack was going to find out and tell everyone and then all of his best friends would hate him again. It was bad enough that they had a predator amongst them but now this?!

“Michael, are you gay?”


	12. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings!! Trans!Jack, domestic abuse, minor character death, murder**

Jack stared at herself in the mirror, watched as her skin changed colors so she could decide how to cover it. The mark faded from a bright red to a moderate pink in minutes but she continued to study herself.

The color of her hair seemed to have dulled over the years of her unhappy relationship and she was wearing more makeup than ever before. Her nails were either broken or ripped off, her bottom lip was split, and there was a bruise peeking out from the left sleeve of the shirt.

When had her eyes lost the life from them? What were once a vibrant green were now a lifeless sort of hazel.

“Where’s my fucking lunch?!” Was yelled from downstairs and Jack instantly flinched. Her heart pounded in her chest and there was a rushing sound in her ears. “Well, Bitch?”

Jack forced herself to move. To do anything to avoid getting hurt again. One foot in front of the other. Faster. Down the stairs.

-

David hadn’t always been this way. They had had a picture perfect relationship at the beginning. Until Jack had shared the one secret she had always kept close to her chest.

She wasn’t born a female.

After he found out, it started off with little things. But it quickly escalated to slaps or outright punches. How she had let it go this far was beyond her, but now she felt trapped.

It took three years before Jack finally had enough. And even then she hadn’t been the one to free herself: it was some stranger.

David held onto her hand tightly, probably to make sure Jack didn’t try anything outrageous. Her eyes were on the ground the whole time while she absentmindedly let him lead them home. Feet came into her field of view and then something collided with her shoulder. She immediately looked up to apologize but was was yanked backwards before she could by the hold on her hand.

“What the fuck was that all about?” David yelled. Jack hunched down into herself to try to hide from the wrath she knew was coming as he stepped closer.

“Hey man. Chill out it was an acc-”

“Shut up and stay out of this, you fucking cunt.” He yelled at the stranger. Jack sneaked a peek at the other to see a handlebar mustache and tattoos all over. Tired eyes that caught everything and a certain air about him that wanted to soothe her. But all of the safety of this man was overpowered by the fear and hatred that she had coming from her abusing boyfriend.

His free hand raised up into the air and Jack instantly let out a small whimper as she tried to escape his grasp. But before the impact, there was a gunshot that rang through the air. David fell to the ground, red pooling all around him. Jack struggled to loosen the grip of the dying man and stumbled backwards when she finally accomplished it.

“I-I’m sorry. But he was going to hit you!” The man fumbled for his words, no gun in sight. “I know he’s done this before, I see the marks. So please don’t call the cops.” He rushed on while his hands gestured towards her.

Jack merely stood there at a loss of words. The sound of sirens pulled her out of her thoughts as she realized what this meant.

She was free.

She was finally free!

“Thank you.” She breathed, water rolling down her cheeks. When did she start crying?

The man smiled and held out his hand. “M'name’s Geoff. Come with me.” He said. And his eyes were so lively. So excited. So full of promise.

How could she say no?

“Jack.” And she took his hand in hers. Then they took off.

Running down the street, they both had smiles on their faces and laughter was bubbling out of Jack, the first happy sound in four years. And she had never felt better. Had never felt such freedom as she did running from the law that day.


	13. The Luck of Ramsey's Golden Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff and Gavin take a trip up to Las Vegas

The luck between Ramsey and his Golden Boy are complete opposites. Geoff always gets the bad hands, loses no matter how hard he tries. Unless he has Gavin there with him. Whispering into his ear, watching every move with calculating eyes.

Naturally, Gavin loves traveling to Las Vegas. Loves the lights and noises and the all-around party scene. He blends in with all his jewelry and makeup like he’s always belonged. Geoff also sticks in -even though it’s not necessarily the good way. Walking down the streets, there’s quite a bit of people with tuxedos, attempting magic or singing/playing instruments.

“Oh come off it, Geoffrey. Just one casino tonight!” Gavin cooed. They were about 15 feet from two separate casinos and they both knew that Geoff couldn’t say no to an opportunity to gain more money and earn free drinks at the same time.

“Just one.” He agreed as he rummaged through his wallet. He handed over some cash and smirked. “You only have $1,000 to spend tonight.” The Golden Boy pouted in response but took the money.

“Bet you we’ll leave with 5 grand.”

-

Watching Gavin work his magic was like watching a well oiled machine work. Everything seemed to go along smoothly and it was very satisfying. He avoided the craps table, Russian roulette, things like that where he couldn’t predict certain aspects. He stuck to the card games and the slot machines. Being a hacker and a frontman gave him advantages that no one else could even think of.

He worked the slots with the tiniest movements, slipping a card into it so quickly Geoff had thought he imagined it the first few times. And with the cards.. Well, that was no problem. The Golden Boy’s whole job was the read people, so this was like a piece of cake.

They were only threatened to get kicked out for cheating a few times. But Gavin got them out of that, like always, by using his people skills in his favor.

And about 4 hours later at the end of the night, Gavin was waving around a bounded wad of cash. “$4,500.” He announced proudly. Geoff chuckled before swiping it out of the other’s hand.

“Still not 5k.” He pointed out. Gavin’s jaw dropped as he stomped his foot a little.

“That’s not fair! It still counts!”

(He would never tell Gavin, but Geoff had lost another $400 in there before giving up and just watching the other man.)


	14. Serenity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fahc Ryan and Geoff bonding

Ryan sat in the car waiting for his boss to come down from where his business meeting was being held. Michael was up there with him playing bodyguard, but the man had a different job he was to go to right afterwards. So that left Ryan as the only available one that was able to drive right now.

The two men came out of the building, Michael lighting a cigarette and waving goodbye to Ramsey while the older made his way to where Ryan sat. He immediately spotted the load of papers in the other’s hand and went to open the door for him. “M'lady.” He joked through his mask, earning a snort from Geoff.

He promptly shut the door and got back into the driver side before buckling up and driving away.

“Just go to the office today. I have too much to deal with to stop and get lunch.” Geoff sighed and Ryan glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

“Sure thing.”

-

“Rye. Where the hell are you taking me? We’re almost out of town!” Geoff shrieked once he finally looked up from the mountain of papers on his lap. Ryan merely shrugged.

“You’ll see. I promise you’ll be able to do your work all the way out there and back. You can decide when to go back to the penthouse. But only after you’ve seen where I’m taking you. That sound like a deal?” He asked. There was a pause as the other thought about it before he made a defeated sigh.

It only took about another half hour before they were on the dirt road that lead up to Ryan’s secret spot. It was starting to get dark; the perfect time for this.

“We’re here.” Ryan announced. Geoff looked up and frowned at what he saw.

“No where? You literally drove me to the middle of fucking no where?” He turned to face the driver and regarded him cautiously. “You’re not going to kill me are you?” He couldn’t help but ask.

Ryan shook his head in amusement as he opened the door. “Come on. Leave the papers. This’ll only take a minute.” He promised, waiting for his boss to step out of the car before he fully got out. He moved to sit nearby the only fully grown tree out there. Slowly, Geoff followed his lead.

He pointed up at the sky and smiled at the other man. “This is where I come if I have too much on my mind. I’ll leave my phone and weapons in the car and just… Sit here. Watch the stars and try to forget everything for a while. You can’t see this from the city; too many lights.” He told the other, refusing to look that way as he spoke, a bit embarrassed.

“It’s beautiful.” Geoff breathed next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Ryan broke it.

“Still want to go back to base?” He asked.

“Five more minutes.”

-

It had been a rough day to say the least. It never felt good when he had to interrogate somebody, no matter how fun the Vagabond persona made it out to be.

Ryan didn’t even stop off at any of the safehouses around Los Santos to change clothes or shower. He just went straight out of town and up the mountains. He may have gripped the wheel too tight and his breathing a little too heavy, but he drove with practiced motions and let the world go by in a blur.

It wasn’t until after he had stopped and gotten out of the car did he realize someone else was there. Instantly, He reached for the gun he didn’t have on him and cursed. Before he recognized the suit and mustache that he’s worked with for years now.

“Geoff? What’re you doing here so late?” He wondered, using the silence to help him calm down. Geoff didn’t look in his direction -something Ryan was extremely grateful for- and he spoke just above a whisper.

“It’s beautiful. Rye. The perfect place to get away from everything for a bit.” He waited until the Vagabond mask was removed and the other was sitting beside him before speaking again. “I hope you’re not mad I stole your spot?”

Ryan smiled and put his hands behind his head as he laid down on the grass. He let his eyes fall shut and listened to the noises around them. “Not at all.

“This is our spot now.”


	15. Not Like the Movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> X-Ray and Vav au where Ray teams up with the Mad King

“So here we are again, X-Ray.” The Mad King sneered as he slowly circled around the superhero. “And without Vav? What a foolish mistake.”

X-Ray simply stood there, as casually as he could make himself considering his life was probably on the line right now. “I’m not here to fight.” He informed the other, causing the Mad King to pause in his pacing.

“I’m here to talk about what you said. When you were in prison. About me needing Ga-Vav.” Ray corrected himself. There was a small bud of guilt pooling in his stomach, growing more with every word he said.

“Yes, I’m aware. What of it?”

“You’re right.” The Mad King stopped his movements for good and turned to properly face the hero. He raised an eyebrow as he studied the other.

“I’m right about a lot of things.” He deflected. He had to hear it. Had to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.

“He doesn’t need me. Ever since Ash came around, he hardly pays attention to me. And what happened with the lava jello?” X-Ray scoffed, kicking at the ground angrily. “He chose her over me.. Some girl he barely even knows! Over me! His best friend since we were kids!

"So, yeah. Fuck him. I want to work with you now. If you’ll still take me.”

The Mad King grinned from where he stood, the door opening behind him. Mogar appeared from the shadows and regarded X-Ray. His eyes darted back and forth between the hero and the villain, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do. Ryan caught the surprised look on Ray’s face at the bear-man.

“Oh what? Did you really think you heroes were the only ones to have friends?” He cackled before waving his hands towards X-Ray. “Lead him to one of the spare rooms. I’ll send someone to gather his things.”

The lad nodded and walked towards Mogar before stopping again once he was in front of the Mad King. “I mean, I’m cool to listen to you or whatever, but what’s the game plan here?” He asked.

The mastermind tilted his head slightly to the side. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what are we doing now? You got me. Now what? We gonna rob a bank or kill the mayor or what?” The Mad King pursed his lips in thought before shrugging.

“I’m not sure.” He admitted. Ray felt his jaw drop and he forced out a laugh. But when he saw that no one else was laughing with him, he realized it wasn’t a joke.

“What do you mean?! Aren’t you supposed to have some grand scheme to rule the world or something?!”

“I didn’t think I’d get this far. None of the villains ever do in the movies."


	16. A Watery Grave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some sailor Trevor and siren Mica

Trevor was in the middle of rolling up the plans for the ship when he heard it: someone humming. He paused in his movements before standing up straight. “Hello?” He called out cautiously. He wasn’t sure why he did it, sense they were out in the middle of the ocean and the next closest boat was miles away.

Way too far away to be able to hear someone humming.

The noise stopped and Trevor chalked it up to his imagination seeing as to how it was nearly 3 in the morning and he was tired. Lack of sleep maybe. Or just being away from home for so long. Any logical excuse he could come up with the get rid of the eerie feeling crawling up his back.

Then it came again. Louder. The sound quickly turned into singing although there were no words, more like vocalizing. Logically, he knew there was only one voice, but it wove together to sound like two different ones harmonizing with each other.

He placed his plans for the ship down onto the desk then moved to the side so he could look down towards the water. ‘Come here’ a voice sounded. His head turned to where it was coming from and he squinted into the darkness only to see nothing but the black water. Gradually, the sound of the waves hitting the boat and the wind flowing ceased until all he could hear was the singing.

“Where are you?” He asked, voice sounding fuzzy.

‘Down here’. It came again. 'Join me.’ It should be weird, knowing the voice and the singing were the same person -or creature. But the song never stopped even when the person -thing?- spoke.

It felt like his body became heavy all of a sudden. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. To follow that voice and be led to bed. He doesn’t remember deciding to climb onto the railing, or getting the nerve to jump off, but he does it anyways.

The water hits him like a slap to the face and then there’s panic. The voice is gone and he’s left alone. The ocean is cold and- ew, did something just swim against his leg? Trevor’s teeth start to chatter as he realizes that there’s not a way back onto the boat. Everyone was asleep or inside where they wouldn’t be able to hear him. There’s no ladder or rope to climb up without someone tossing it out to him.

A calm settles over his body before he hears it again. The vibrations in the water help distract him long enough for the creature to reach him.

At first he thinks it’s a woman: long brown wavy hair, beautiful dark skin, and breasts just barely poking out of the water. But then she opens her mouth and he realizes he’s fallen into the trap of a siren. And her scaly tail brushing along his side only confirms his suspicions.

“My aren’t you a cute thing.” The siren says, a musical lilt to her voice that makes his body shiver.

“Thanks. I know.” He answers automatically, not quite sure what else to say. The womanly creature laughs as she slowly circles around him.

“What’s your name, pet?” A finger is put under his chin and he’s forced to tilt his head back while she studies him.

“Trevor.” It comes out in a whisper and he gulps.

“Trevor.” The siren tries it on her tongue and the human’s eyes glaze over just the slightest. “I like that name, Trevor. A pretty name for a pretty pet.” She coos. “You can call me Mica.”

The name settles itself into his mind and he smiles, a dumb goofy look. “Mica.” Trevor sighs. The creature grins to expose the fangs underneath.

Trevor knows he should be scared. Should be looking for a way out of this situation he’s in.

But he can’t get past anything other than the sound of Mica’s voice and how amazing she looks with the moonlight lighting up her features.

“Now come.” She orders, tugging at his hand. He follows her down into the water obediently. Deeper and deeper.


	17. Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Jack saying goodbye. Ryack

Jack was in his room trying to be as silent as possible. He could hear the others fighting in the other room, the shouting and occasional thing thrown around. But he had left before it had gotten too out of hand, before someone got hurt.

“What the fuck was that for?!” He could hear Michael yell through the wall. The voices became indistinguishable as everyone started talking again all at once.

Jack curled in around himself, his fingers gripping his hair tightly. It would probably be borderline painful if he wasn’t so distracted. He bit his bottom lip harshly to try to stop the tears from falling, but it didn’t help. A sob tore out of his throat and it was like a dam broke. Everything he had been holding in was released, so quickly that it was overwhelming.

There was a quiet knock on the door that almost went unnoticed with the screaming match still going on. Jack didn’t look up, didn’t move, silently hoping whoever it was would go away. “Jack?” A deep voice called into the dark room. A hand gently rubbed his shoulder and he finally looked up.

“I can’t do it anymore, Rye.” His voice cracked and he saw Ryan’s face contort at the sound. “I can’t sit there anymore and wait for someone to get hurt. I can-I can’t just watch you guys throw yourselves into danger. While I’m stuck in the car!”

Ryan carefully pulled Jack into him, resting the man’s head on his shoulder. He fought back his own tears as he tried to soothe his boyfriend. “I can’t do it anymore. I won’t sit there and watch you guys hurt yourselves. And I can’t sit here and wait for this to end like that.” Jack said, a bit muffled from the position they were in.

Ryan rocked back and forth to try to comfort him but he was at a loss for words. “I know. I’m so sorry.” Was all he could think of as one of his hands reached up to stroke the red hair.

It was barely a whisper, and Ryan prayed that he had imagined it, that it was some cruel joke, but it was undoubtedly there: “I’m leaving.”

“Jack.” It was Ryan’s turn to whisper. The other man pulled away from the embrace, leaving the Vagabond feeling cold and empty now that the warmth was gone. “Please don’t.” But Jack was already shaking his head.

“I can’t anymore, Rye.” He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. “I’ll tell the others. After.. After they’re done fighting. But please don’t say anything.” Ryan put his head in his hands and shook as the tears spilled from his eyes.

“Don’t ask me to do this. Please don’t.” He begged. A hand gently grabbed his chin and forced him to look up again. He met Jack’s eyes and saw the deep sorrow that was usually locked away. All of the pain and agony at the surface for once. Their lips met and Ryan hated it. Hated the way it tasted like Jack; like gunpowder and sweets. Hated the way it felt like goodbye. Hated the fact that Ryan knew this was the last time they would do this.

The last time that stupid beard would tickle his nose as they kissed. The final time he would be able to wrap his arms around him in their loving embrace.

He couldn’t bring himself to hate Jack, but gods did he want to. Instead, he chased after the man as he pulled away and let out a sigh once it was final. He licked his lips for that lingering taste and closed his eyes. “I love you.” He forced out, knowing that would also be the last time it was said.

“I love you too, Rye.” And then the weight on the other side of the bed disappeared and Ryan was left alone with all of Jack’s things and the knowledge of what was going to happen next. He hugged himself tightly and didn’t bother trying to stop the tears from falling this time.


	18. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Assassin's Creed au

“Edgar.” A voice whispered to Ryan. He glanced up from the book he was reading to see Geoff standing in the doorway of his room nervously. The older man was shifting his weight back and forth and it put him on edge.

“Yes?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, setting his reading material aside.

“Burnie wants to talk to you. Says he has a mission.” Geoff’s eyes looked this way and that before leaning into the room even further. “I hear it’s a big one. You’ll get promoted again if it gets done.” Ryan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

It had been almost two years since his last promotion, but he wasn’t complaining. He was sitting pretty high up on the totem pole right now and it was getting more and more challenging to prove himself for the next step up.

Of course some of that came because he had been initiated so early in his life. At only 10 years old, Matt had taken him in off of the streets. He had tried to hide the lifestyle from the child, but Ryan was clever and sneaky. He had learned of it soon enough and demanded to join.

It only took 3 years for the leaders to officially agree even though he was doing small jobs and training before then.

Ryan stood from his place and smiled at Geoff. “Better not disappoint then, huh?” He joked. He placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder as he walked past on his way to meet with the man in charge of all of the missions.

-

“I can’t believe this! How could you let this happen?!” Matt yelled at him. Ryan flinched at the harsh tone but otherwise stood his ground.

“It was that or be killed!” He replied through bared teeth. He didn’t feel bad for the choice he had made, couldn’t bring himself to regret his decision. Sure, he might have compromised the Brotherhood. But he had limped his way out of there still alive. And odds were that nothing was even going to happen. The target was probably dead, either by suffocation or the rocks landing on him.

“You may have survived, but we could all fall because of you.” Matt said, a calm settling over him. “You would be dead by now if I hadn’t raised you. If you weren’t so fucking talented.” He hissed. The leader took a deep breath before speaking again. “You’re stripped of everything. You’re starting over. No specialized weapons. No codename. No contacts.”

“What? You can’t do that! I earned those!” Ryan took a step forward as he yelled.

“I can and I did! It’s this or have Joel deal with you.” And that stopped Ryan. Edgar may have made a name for himself with his interrogations, his stealth, and his way of leaving a message. But it was nothing compared to Joel.

The Monster was known for his “art” using human pieces. Murals with blood. Costumes with skin. Statues with bones.

He was truly crazy and Ryan wished no one had to go down to the basement at the edge of town to visit him.

Without another word, Ryan ripped off his weapons and the pins stating his position. He threw them onto the table in front of him before storming off.

-

“There he is.”

“That’s Edgar, innit?”

“Shut up, he might hear you.”

“He’s the one everyone's talking about?”

Ryan tried to tune all of the voices out as he made his way to the circle where the trainees were. He glanced around curiously and was surprised to see some younger people there. None were as young as he was when he started, but still.

Two of them had to be in their early 20s and the darker one looked to be around 16. He tried not to dwell on them too much, turning to look at the instructor.

“Alright listen up fuckheads. I’ve got better things to do than sit here and watch you guys fail at this shit so I’ll make it quick. Name’s Jeremy. Tier 3 trainer.” The man said as he pointed first to the pin with the three stripes then to the one displaying the feather.

“Behind you are two racks of weapons-” everyone turned to look at the swords and daggers lined up against the wall. “-pick one and then find a partner.” He ordered.

Ryan immediately went towards the daggers and grabbed one, standing to the side as he examined it so as not to get in anyone’s way. They were extremely dull and it should be pretty difficult to seriously injure someone with it.

“Yo. Wanna partner up?” Someone said to his left and he turned to look. It was the young one with a dagger in his hand. Ryan regarded him for a second then glanced around at the other options, giving in with a sigh and gave a gruff ‘sure’.

“Oh hey! Edgar why don’t you come up here and help demonstrate!” Jeremy called out, a shiteating grin on his face. Ryan immediately moved to take the spot beside the man when he spoke again. “Wait, that’s right. You’re name’s not Edgar anymore. Is it, Ryan?” He sneered down at the other and Ryan paused in his steps.

Oh that was it. Whoever this arrogant asshole thought he was, Ryan was going to absolutely wreck him. The dull dagger in his hand was going to _hurt_ by the time he was done.


End file.
